KILLER SUMMER

Sun Valley Sheriff Walt Fleming (Killer Weekend, 2008, etc.) must guard bottles of wine that once belonged to John Adams—or did they?

During one of those periods when he felt kindly toward his political rival, Thomas Jefferson supposedly presented Adams with three excellent bottles of wine. It’s a legend latter-day connoisseurs have come to cherish, and at Sun Valley’s very-well-attended annual auction, $1 million is routinely predicted as the going price for the storied bottles. At least one skeptical voice has been raised, but no matter how scholarly her research appears to be, few are ready to give credence to such an unknown as young Janet Finch. Whether or not the bottles and their story are authentic, Fleming’s job is to keep them out of covetous hands, especially those of the master criminal skulking in the vicinity. To Christopher Cantell, the harder the heist, the more irresistible the challenge, and while understated Walt would never compare himself to Sherlock Holmes (at least not aloud), he knows that he’s a qualified player. And so the game’s afoot, complete with a dizzying profusion of feints and gambits. Readers may well be confused, but never bored. Cheers!

A throwback to the time when plotting and pacing were the detective story’s sine qua non; Pearson shows once again how it’s done.